Corvette Generations:

C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8

Corvette: Year by Year

1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963
1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974
1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985
1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025

V8 Power

Specifications

1954 Corvette Manual Transmission

Corvette Leaps into the Performance Future

A few late production 1955 Corvettes, approximately 75, were equipped with a three speed floor mounted manual transmission. The remaining performance element - a four speed transmission - would have to wait for another time.

1955 Corvette V8 ignition shielding.

Corvettes, and their fiberglass bodies, had a special problem. Since they are, unlike conventional steel cars, electrically inert, EMI (Electro Magnetic Interference) would cause static in the radio reception. The problem was resolved by shielding the ignition wires and distributor.

Above: 1955 V8 equipped Corvettes can be identified by the gold "V" in the "Chevrolet" side marking.

Above: 1955 Corvette in "Corvette Copper", one of only 15. Other colors included Pennant Blue (45), Gypsy Red (180) and Harvest Gold (120). Almost half of the 700 unit production (325) was Polo White. Photo courtesy of Corvette Fever Magazine.

Below: Official GM press photo of the 1955 Corvette.

Corvette Competition:

Ford Thunderbird

Thank You, Mr. Ford

With such a disastrous beginning, how did the Corvette survive? After three model years, it did not look good. Chevrolet had a new plant capable of producing 10,000 Corvettes a year, yet only sold 700 in 1955. Customers did not seem interested and dealers, many of whom lost money on 1954 models, less so. Under most circumstances, a car company would just cut their losses.

We still have the Corvette over 60 years later because Ed Cole, the GM executive who believed passionately in the car and Zora Arkos-Duntov, the engineer who would later be instrumental in the direction of the Corvette. There was also the 1955 Ford Thunderbird.

Ford and Chevrolet fans do not normally get along. But this is one instance where Chevrolet followers should be offering to purchase their Ford counterparts a beverage of their choice. In 1955 Ford introduced the two seater Thunderbird which was classified as a "personal luxury car". Ford did not make the same mistakes Chevrolet did with the Corvette and equipped it so that it would have a market. It succeeded, which presented a dilemma for Chevrolet: should they abandon the Corvette, it would appear that they had lost in the two seat category. Corporate egos are powerful things and a new Corvette would be available in 1956.

What happened next is well known. The Thunderbird would cease as a two seater in 1958 and then go in a confused direction, gaining weight and losing performance along the way. It would disappear from the lineup and then reappear as a clone of its old self in 2002, only to disappear again after four model years. The Corvette, despite shaky beginnings, would find its groove, survive and prosper for many more years.